The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today that lead poisoning – which is detected through a blood test – will now be defined as 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, half of the 20-year-old action level standard of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood.

Download and read the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Final Report, which contributed significantly to the CDC’s decision, by clicking on this link: “Low Level Exposure Harms Children: A Renewed Call for Primary Prevention”

This important shift by the CDC cuts in half the amount of lead that will trigger medical monitoring and other actions in children ages 1 to 5, who are highly vulnerable to lead’s toxicity. Lead – which was common in paint and gasoline for years before it was banned because of its proven health dangers – can harm a child’s brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels in the blood can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.

The significantly lower blood lead level by the CDC trails a significant body of research that there truly is no safe level of lead exposure for humans.

Download and read the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Final Report, which had significant influence on the CDC’s action, by clicking on this link:

In addition to stories about the CDC’s action on blood levels for lead poisoning from the Dallas Morning News, USA TODAY and The Associated Press, we have pulled together related information and stories below that are pertinent to Frisco children and families – particularly information from Howard Mileke, Ph.D., who is considered to be one of the world’s top scientists/experts on lead and its toxicity. We also have included links to sources to learn more about lead and its very real threat to human health.

Related Frisco and Dangers of Lead Exposure Stories

More than 38,000 Frisco children and young people under the age of 19 live within the area included in the recent lead deposition study that showed that more than 150 tons of lead has been deposited over much of Frisco in the almost 50 years that the Exide lead smelter has been in operation.

59 Frisco and Plano schools, pre-school and daycare centers are located within the 114-square-mile area included in a lead deposition study recently released by Frisco citizens group, Frisco Unleaded. Results of the study showed that at least 150 tons of lead has been deposited over much of Frisco since the Exide Technologies lead smelter began operations almost 50 years ago.

“Really, “there is no safe level of blood lead in children,” said Christopher Portier, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He heads the agency’s environmental health programs.”

from USA TODAY…

“There’s no good treatment. Prevention is the only way to make sure kids are growing up to their fullest abilities, so they’re not impaired from a neurological standpoint,” says Perry Gottesfeld, executive director at Occupational Knowledge International, a California-based non-profit group.

“If I’m a parent and I read this today, what it means is you need to have a heightened awareness of our surroundings to understand your risks in your home or where your children are going to child care,” says Ruth Ann Norton, executive director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.

from “Tips to Prevent Lead Exposure” – USA TODAY

Keep surfaces clean:Household dust can be a major source of lead exposure for children. It can come from deteriorating lead-based paint in older homes, but also from lead-contaminated soil that is tracked into homes or picked up on the wind and blown through windows. Leave shoes at the door to avoid tracking contaminated soil inside. Wet-mop floors and wet-wipe surfaces — especially window ledges — regularly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises.

Create a barrier: Avoid letting children play in bare soil, especially in a city. Laying down a thick layer of sod, mulch or even a blanket can reduce their exposure to lead dust in soil. Consider replacing contaminated soil with clean dirt. Keep children’s play areas and vegetable gardens away from the “dripline” around the base of homes or garages, where soil is more likely to be contaminated from airborne lead particles and flaking paint.

Wash up:Children are exposed to lead dust by putting dirty hands or toys in their mouths. Wash hands and toys frequently.

Texas Children at Risk for Lead Poisoning Under New CDC Guidelines Increases to more than 14,000

By Valerie Wigglesworth, Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News

2:08 pm on May 16, 2012

A shift in federal policy announced Wednesday means thousands more children in Texas are classified as being at risk for lead poisoning.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines that cut in half the level of the toxic metal measured in children’s blood that will require medical intervention and other actions.

Since 1991, the level of concern for lead poisoning has been 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The new threshold calls for a blood lead level of five or above for children younger than 6.

The new guidelines also focus on preventing lead exposure rather than reacting once children have been exposed. That’s because there is no safe level of lead exposure, according to the CDC. Lead in children has been linked to IQ deficits, attention-related behaviors and poor academic achievement.

The most recent data available for Texas from 2010 shows that the number of children at risk for lead poisoning increases from 2,548 to 14,345 under the new guidelines.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area the number of children at risk for lead poisoning increases more than fivefold, according to that same data. The number of children in Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties with blood lead levels of 10 or above was 432 that year. The number of children that year with blood lead levels of five or more was 2,397.

But the numbers are likely much higher because so few children are actually tested. Texas requires lead testing only for children on Medicaid or those living in neighborhoods identified as having a high percentage of older housing. Pediatricians can order the blood lead tests, but seldom do unless lead poisoning is suspected. But by then, the damage is done.

One of the main sources of exposure comes from lead-based paint in older houses. But lead can also be found in the soil along roads from years of leaded gasoline use before it was banned in the 1970s. Several neighborhoods in North Texas also have been exposed from secondary lead smelters. Lead has also been found in certain pottery, jewelry and toys.

Lead Poisoning Guidelines Revised; More Considered at Risk

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

Up to 365,000 more children across the USA will be considered at risk of lead poisoning under new guidelines released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an important shift, the CDC cut in half the amount of lead that will trigger medical monitoring and other actions in children ages 1 to 5. It’s the first time in more than 20 years that the CDC has revised its action level on lead poisoning.

Now any child with more than 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood will be considered at risk. This afternoon, the CDC said the new guidelines increase the patient population nationwide to about 442,000 from about 77,000 using the latest available data. (The CDC had previously said about 250,000 were affected under the current standard.)

The new levels come with a huge caveat. The CDC doesn’t “have the funding, staff or control over the means to implement” them, it said in a statement. “A commitment to implement actions cannot be made due to our lack of control over available resources.”

The CDC’s funding for lead-poisoning prevention was slashed 94% this year by Congress, from $29 million in fiscal year 2011 to $2 million. The CDC is reducing staff in its Lead Poisoning Prevention Program from 26 to six full-time employees.

John Belt of the Ohio Department of Health said his funding for lead prevention programs “went from $1.3 million to $594,000 and then from $594,000 to zero.”

Still, the new guidelines are viewed by several experts as a necessary change. “It’s about time,” says John Rosen, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

Pediatricians will be on alert about the “enormous impact that a blood lead level of 5 can have, forever, on a child’s life and future academic success.”

The guidelines will not only help prevent further exposures in these children, but also protect future generations in those same environments by cleaning up lead-leaking homes, said the CDC’s Christopher Portier. “It will save lives.”

Children can be exposed to lead from a variety of sources. While lead-based paint is the best-known source, a USA TODAY investigation last month revealed the danger posed by lead-contaminated soil around forgotten factory sites that spewed lead particles into neighborhoods for decades before closing in the 1960s or 1970s. Other sources of exposure include soil contaminated from years of leaded gasoline emissions.

The new guidelines are based on recommendations made by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention work group. The group suggested, and the CDC agreed, that the old standard of 10 micrograms per deciliter should be replaced.

Until now, almost all laboratories would have told parents that if a child’s blood-lead levels are less than 10, they’re fine, says Perry Gottesfeld, who co-chaired the CDC advisers’ work group.

That’s simply wrong, according to Gottesfeld, executive director at Occupational Knowledge International, a California-based non-profit group. “Any lead is too much lead,” he says.

Instead, the CDC is moving toward what’s known as a reference value approach, says Rebecca Morley, national director of the National Center for Healthy Housing in Columbia, Md. The value is based on levels found in the 2.5% children nationally with the most lead in their blood, which is at 5, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey or NHANES.

Because it’s a moving target, it’s likely to slowly fall as environmental levels of lead decrease, given lowered pollution and the fact that lead is no longer allowed in paint. The advisory panel suggested that the CDC reset the trigger level every four years, Gottesfeld says.

Lead exposure is especially dangerous in children 6 years old and younger because their brains are developing. It can cause cognitive and behavioral problems, learning disabilities and at high levels seizures and even death.

Another major shift is that the CDC says the goal is no longer testing and treating, but instead making sure kids aren’t exposed in the first place.

“There’s no good treatment. Prevention is the only way to make sure kids are growing up to their fullest abilities, so they’re not impaired from a neurological standpoint,” Gottesfeld says.

“If I’m a parent and I read this today, what it means is you need to have a heightened awareness of our surroundings to understand your risks in your home or where your children are going to child care,” says Ruth Ann Norton, executive director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.

Multiple studies have shown impairment at levels below 10. A report by the National Toxicology Program Toxicology Program found that blood-lead levels lower than 5 can lead to “losses in IQ, cognitive and academic impairment as well as ADHD,” Rosen says.

At these levels, there is no treatment beyond removing the child’s exposure to lead. Chelation therapy, which involves giving chemicals that bind to lead so it can be excreted from the body, is reserved for children who have blood lead levels over 45, Rosen says.

Congress has gotten involved in the budget issues around lead. Monday, 26 members released a letter decrying the loss of funding for the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program in 34 states.

“I commend the CDC for allowing science not politics to drive their adoption of these new limits,” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Wednesday.

The new levels are important not just for children in the USA but internationally, because many nations use CDC benchmarks as their own. “Last time, the World Health Organization picked up the CDC standards, and it became the global standard,” Gottesfeld says.

Tips to Prevent Lead Exposure

Get tested: Pediatricians and local health departments can test children’s blood to measure lead levels. Make sure to ask for the child’s exact blood-lead level and don’t accept a vague report that the level is “normal” or “negative.” Health departments can provide advice on how to test homes, yards and gardens for lead.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD LEAD POISONING PREVENTION TIP SHEET

Keep surfaces clean: Household dust can be a major source of lead exposure for children. It can come from deteriorating lead-based paint in older homes, but also from lead-contaminated soil that is tracked into homes or picked up on the wind and blown through windows. Leave shoes at the door to avoid tracking contaminated soil inside. Wet-mop floors and wet-wipe surfaces — especially window ledges — regularly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises.

Create a barrier: Avoid letting children play in bare soil, especially in a city. Laying down a thick layer of sod, mulch or even a blanket can reduce their exposure to lead dust in soil. Consider replacing contaminated soil with clean dirt. Keep children’s play areas and vegetable gardens away from the “dripline” around the base of homes or garages, where soil is more likely to be contaminated from airborne lead particles and flaking paint.

Wash up: Children are exposed to lead dust by putting dirty hands or toys in their mouths. Wash hands and toys frequently.

Eat well: Good nutrition can protect children from the effects of lead exposure. Children who don’t get enough calcium and iron absorb more lead.

U.S. Lowers Cutoff for Lead Poisoning in Young Kids

ATLANTA (AP) — For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

The new standard announced Wednesday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead. Too much lead is harmful to developing brains and can mean a lower IQ.

“Unfortunately, many, many more parents will be getting bad news,” said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a Maryland-based nonprofit focused on hazards to kids in homes.

The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research persuaded experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.

Really, “there is no safe level of blood lead in children,” said Christopher Portier, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He heads the agency’s environmental health programs.

The CDC announced the change Wednesday, adopting recommendations made in January by an advisory panel of experts. At the same time, CDC officials acknowledged they don’t have additional funds to help doctors or local health departments do more testing of children or find and clean up lead contamination.

Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.

Under the old standard, lead poisoning in children had been declining in the U.S. Experts estimated that somewhere between 77,000 and 255,000 children had high levels of lead, though many of them are undiagnosed. The change could raise the count to 450,000 cases.

Lead — a metal that for years was common in paint and gasoline — can harm a child’s brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels in the blood can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.

Usually, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put it in their mouth. Lead has been banned in paint since 1978. Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, and from dust tracked in from industrial worksites.

Most cases of lead poisoning are handled by tracking and removing the lead source, and monitoring the children to make sure lead levels stay down. A special treatment to remove lead and other heavy metals is used for very high levels.

Specialists describe children as having lead poisoning only at those very high levels, but others use the term more broadly to describe any child with levels that can impact intelligence or cause other harm.

The CDC’s threshold was last changed in 1991. The new standard was calculated from the highest lead levels seen in a comprehensive annual U.S. health survey. The CDC plans to reassess that level every four years.

Health officials have been focused on young children, who are most affected by lead poisoning. The CDC recommends testing for children who live in old housing or might otherwise be exposed to lead. About 15 percent of young children are tested, according to the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, a Baltimore-based organization.

For older children and adults, there is no lead poisoning threshold, although pregnant women should have blood lead levels below 5 micrograms to protect the developing fetus. Most cases in adults come from manufacturing jobs or hobbies, but those numbers have also been declining.

Some health officials consider the CDC’s action overdue. Cleveland and other cities in northeastern Ohio adopted a standard of 5 micrograms five years ago.

The CDC was following recommendations made to the agency in January by an advisory panel of experts. But Portier said the agency wasn’t able to do everything the panel suggested.

For example, the panel said the CDC should do more to make sure no children are exposed to lead hazards. It also said all doctors should report high levels to local health departments, re-test the children to see if they improve, and help teach parents how to find and eliminate lead sources. The CDC agreed that should happen, but doesn’t have the money or staff to bolster such an effort. Congress cut the CDC lead program’s budget from about $29 million last year to $2 million.

In many places, it’s up to city and county health departments to provide many of the services for lead poisoned kids, and those departments have lost more than 34,000 jobs in the last three years because of budget cuts.

The timing is unfortunate, Morley said. “But we wouldn’t want to keep information from parents just because there’s not money to provide the service,” she added.